At this point, it is critical to concentrate on voice search as this will set you apart from your competition, especially as you leverage new normal business strategies.
Has it been at least a week since you’ve spoken to your phone? Today is probably like how most people in the developed world experience their days. People initially believed that talking to their phone or their home speaker was nothing more than a gimmick, but today this method of communication is as simple as breathing. It is a must for businesses in the new normal to use modern digital marketing strategies to thrive in an ever-demanding economy.
That has far-reaching consequences. A prediction is that 50% of all searches will be done through voice by 2020. When it comes to the value of voice shopping, everyone seems to have a different estimate.
Some believe voice shopping may be worth as much as $40 billion by 2022, with a 55% increase in smart speakers in homes. It is clear at this point: The market is moving in this direction.
Mobile voice search is something that you should be working on now if you want to stay ahead of the competition. When you understand the who, what, where, where, why, and how of speech and possess the vision to take advantage of it, you must be prepared to deal with the unexpected.
At this point, it is critical to concentrate on voice search as this will set you apart from your competition, especially as you leverage new normal business strategies. You should understand who, what, where, where, why, and how you should use your speech and possess a clear vision of what you want to accomplish.
Table of Contents
What is Voice Search?
Voice search is asking questions and issuing commands to devices such as smartphones and smart speakers by speaking. A person looking for something will talk to the system, fulfill their command, or answer their query.
In addition, voice search is asking questions and issuing commands to smartphones and smart speakers using voice. When the searcher talks to the computer, the device responds.
As we are dealing with companies, we shall restrict ourselves to question-based search as that will be most beneficial and valuable for businesses (as opposed to setting timers or playing music).
How Does Voice Search Work?
The overall approach to voice search involves digital assistants that process a customer’s request and respond in these ways:
- Handling and transcribing human spoken words into text
- Sifting through the text to locate questions and instructions
- Finding helpful information by connecting to external data sources such as search engines
- Delivering information that can be easily digested to help users meet their needs
There is more going on here than just answering voice search queries. There is a lot of machine learning and pattern recognition going on so that these systems can better understand natural language and searcher purpose. The technology employed in these systems is much more advanced than it was before. These systems are amazingly complex and are constantly evolving. Despite this simplification, machine learning is being utilized to increase the programs’ understanding of natural language.
Who Are the Market Leaders in Voice Search?
In the US, the market share leaders in the smart speaker market are:
- Amazon (63.2%)
- Google (31%)
- Other (5.8%)
The data does not show that most voice searches are done on smart speakers, however. Most voice searches are on mobile devices, not smart speakers. Although several assistants to choose from, Apple’s Siri and Google’s Assistant are the two main competitors. More and more touchless solutions will emerge via major digital platforms, so web and app owners need to be updated with new solutions to thrive in this new normal economy.
Where Do Voice Assistants Get Their Information?
In contrast to the traditional method of obtaining information, voice assistants and smart speakers draw and obtain their knowledge and information from various data sources, like search engines, Wikipedia, and other websites. When it comes to business optimization for voice search, it’s necessary for a business to thoroughly understand where the various voice assistants get their information to improve its content for voice search.
A variety of third-party sources like IMDB, AccuWeather, Yelp, Answers.com, and Wikipedia are used to compile Alexa’s data. Data for an Alexa Skill invoked by a user would come from the data source connected to that Skill. When a user asks Alexa to activate a particular Skill, this will pull the Skill’s associated database data.
As Google is known to do, you may assume that the search engine draws in details and information from the Google Search index and the billions of web pages in the Google index. It implies that you’re already on the right track if your content is searchable and accessible on Google Search. Google Search efficiently indexes discoverable and crawlable content, so your efforts in this area are likely to bear fruit.
Tools like Google Search Console can aid in diagnosing possible crawlability issues. Google Search Console helps identify problems with the site’s crawlability. Our tests show that Google Assistant’s responses almost always correspond to the featured snippet that users will see if they type in their query into the search box. It’s not uncommon, but that is not always the case.
Siri gets its information from and uses the same data that is provided by Google Search as well. Bing used to be a primary source for its search results until 2017 when it moved to Google. Small businesses do have access to Apple Maps data, which in turn uses Yelp for review information.
1. Content Optimization
Before voice search, content optimization was simply keyword placement– instead, they could solely focus on content strategy. But that time may have long since passed. There is more to good content optimization than just following best practices. You must also consider and answer the searcher’s purpose and present search results based on your gathered info. Content optimization is also all about recognizing and answering the search visitor’s purpose and then providing relevant and tailored results.
Content optimization must adjust to serve better voice assistants, smart speakers, and screen-enabled hubs. The use of natural language in voice search would force optimization to continually reposition itself to talk to voice assistants, smart speakers, and screen-enabled hubs in the most helpful way possible.
2. Who?
Precisely who is searching with voice? It’s difficult to determine who is using a voice scan. It seems that mobile devices are now the majority. The most important thing in mobile search is voice search, as mobile search requires a voice search component (making accessibility easier).
Over the past few years, we’ve seen the number of voice searches done via mobile devices has risen. Mobile search queries climb to 20% of total queries, which will most likely further increase shortly.
There is currently not enough mobile penetration for smart speakers to be widely used. While smart speakers are not as prevalent as smartphones, you’ll generally deal with people on the go for the time being.
However, it’s likely that in the future, at least to some extent, this will not be the case. Soon, smart speaker penetration is expected to be much higher. It would increase the number of people who use voice search for activities they previously did with their computer.
Voice search at this point is also used on mobile devices. Just because you’re paying attention to the future doesn’t mean you can ignore the home customer.
3. Custom Plug-Ins
Custom-built command responses are essential for interaction and exploration, regardless of whether Alexa Skills or Google Actions are used, employed, or preferred. Custom-built command responses are becoming increasingly relevant for engagement and exploration in different platforms and ecosystems.
There are several ways to approach organizing and indexing structured data in your content, which help improve your results. This data could be simple structured text in your content, and it is designed to help improve the relevancy of your content for voice-related search.
Alternatively, voice-guided applications may be complex, for example, an entirely voice-enabled application that assists the user in every step of the process. It may greatly help direct the user from the beginning and end of their search inquiry.
An even better benefit is that they can be marketed via social media, ensuring that the brand will be firmly associated with the user’s preferences even though they are not using a device.
4. What and When?
People are doing a lot of things with voice scans. But is voice search being used in any new ways? But when do they plan on using it? Voice search is at least three times as likely to be someone searching for local results. Search queries generated by voice are used much more than search queries generated by using a keyboard.
According to Google Voice Search figures, Google is mainly used for local search. People will ask questions like “How does one put on a coat?” or “What time is the movie showing today?” or “Where is it located nearby?”
The queries contained more conversational terms and a high purpose and seemed to be longer. The typed search will have 2–3 words, while the speech search will have 5–7 words.
The breadth of purpose and intense concentration of voice queries contribute to a heightened sense of real-time with voice quest. Voice search is much more precise and immediate because of the focused aim using localized, pointed questions.
They aren’t interested in looking at your website. If you’re in the market and are offering something new, your prospects will most likely reach you. They’d like to be able to get ahold of you, locate your company, or determine what’s available in the surrounding area. The chance could not be better. There’s an opportunity here.
As far as text search is concerned, voice search is the ideal medium to spark immediate interest with significant purpose. Voice search is an opportunity to focus attention instantly on the purpose of what people are searching for. Getting noticed and making sure you are there when people search for an answer to their needs and inquiry is the hard part.
5. Tags
Although this may seem trivial, using relevant tags to organize social media and blog posts can improve discoverability, particularly for a brand’s voice. Organizing blog posts and social media posts with appropriate tags increases discoverability for brands. Especially for brands with a distinct voice, it makes a big difference.
Having quality tags on your content will help your users quickly locate the information they are searching for with basic commands such as “Give me the top X stories from this morning.” When you include relevant keywords in the “tags” of your posts, it will help search users find your content. Incorporating relevant tags empowers the brand to join the discussion. Your brand will become a major player in the discussion when you have the correct tags in place.
6. Why?
Instead of using text search, why not use voice search? Voice search offers advantages over text search. One particular aspect is the lack of friction in voice quest, which has been an intriguing topic over the years.
It has been mentioned several times by noted entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk because of that feature: No friction. According to Vaynerchuk, Alexa and voice is the future of a frictionless planet.
One of the driving forces behind voice search is a simple fact that it is easier and faster. People turn to search engines for directions more often than they usually would if they had to use their hands when driving. Searches for directions are essential during times when you need to use your hands when driving.
You don’t have to use your hands to check directions while driving. Your mobile device or phone becomes a handy tool. About sixty percent of people check while watching TV or doing other recreational activities by speaking into a microphone.
One metric to keep an eye on in the future is how well voice search understands the meaning, and Google is in the lead in this regard. Google has been much better at determining the target in sequential searches following the Hummingbird update.
While it is not yet perfect, as voice search gains prominence, people will begin to favor voice search as their method of quickly querying additional information. The voice search feature has advanced, but it is still not perfect. However, as voice search becomes more focused on quick follow-up questions, the feature can grow in popularity.
7. Streaming
You should be sure to target your brand’s voice technology users with targeted advertising on streaming platforms because engagement is vital to both new and old customers. Test voice technology advertising on the various streaming channels to make sure people are using your brand.
People who enjoy listening to podcasts or watching videos can engage with your content by searching and using social media. The podcast and video streamers enable listeners to browse, interact and connect with your content.
However, it may seem strange, but the emergence of voice search indicates that it’s time to rethink your video strategy as well. There are plenty of opportunities to engage your hands while doing something else, like learning how to cook while you’re in the kitchen or pulling up how-tos in the middle of repairing a vehicle. Both help to open doors to exploration.
Think strategically about online video streaming services and social media sites, such as social networks, which use search engine optimization (SEO) to highlight your related brand material. It will help you see SEO results powered by voice technology.
We’ll continue to communicate with the internet and each other as voice assistants grow. Since voice assistants are continuing to develop, our methods of communication and connection with the internet will also change. Social networking will no longer be simply a way to view feed updates on a phone passively.
Today, social media is no longer limited to just scanning feeds on a computer. Instead, you receive the content by being part of the discussion. It will now be an opportunity to interact with people by developing thoughtful content and crafting engaging conversations.
Conforming to search engine algorithms is just half of the equation; nowadays, finding ways to appear at the top of search engine results is just as important. Additionally, SEO no longer just refers to a single search engine page ranking; it also focuses on determining ways to appear on the first page of every discussion.
8. How?
For all intents and purposes, it is now apparent how vital voice search is. We know what the people are doing and how they want to go about getting it. Finally, we get to the million-dollar question: How can I turn this to my advantage? To ensure your voice can sound the best in the future, try these simple tips:
Detailed content is the better choice. It targets more precise, less expansive information. You’re more likely to get features in voice search compared to traditional search (particularly on Google). The only people who can make it into a featured box on the page are those who have had their content in there, to begin with.
Attention may be picked up by micro-data that has been tagged. People looking for content with voice search will have fewer visitors in the future, as most will simply find it with a voice search. When micro-data is applied to your website, you can catch publicity that would otherwise go unnoticed. In the future, people will be searching for content using voice rather than directly looking for it.
Instead of using short and simple questions, use long-tail and question-based queries to boost your content. Using question-based and long-tail queries to refine your content is an excellent way to achieve better content. With desktop search, these terms will likely return better results because the more common, longer keywords will likely return worse results.
It means most of your voice search queries would be rather specific rather than broader terms. In fact, voice search optimization is as difficult as traditional SEO, except that you can need to make them longer.
Organize yourself. Be sure to use clear markup terminology, and upload a sitemap to Google—this will help with conventional SEO and newer techniques like keyword research. Use the “My Business” page to make a claim. My Business is a significant part of voice search, according to Google. One of the most important aspects of voice search is using the Google My Business feature. Getting to the point that you have the correct category, phone number, good pictures, and an up-to-date listing is critical to appearing on voice search.
Answer a commonly asked voice search query when you write long-form material. Your content will show up on voice search where it wouldn’t otherwise if you do keyword research on very long-tail keywords, particularly those that take the form of a query.
The extra assistance with your daily SEO will also help you with this. The website must be mobile-friendly. You should have already designed your site with responsive design, with fast load times, and an adaptive design; this will be much more critical going forward, as search is increasingly being done on mobile devices.
In general, if you are already doing good work on your SEO, you don’t need to focus much on voice search. All you have to do is tweak it to better suit people’s actual voice use. People search for various things, so ensure that the search terms you show them are still being updated.
A strong SEO strategy is all about consistency, extending to the voice (spoken word) and the text (written word). You can push highly intent traffic to your content no matter what business you’re in by using voice search. Voice search is becoming increasingly relevant with each passing day, and it’s critical to begin thinking about it now. It will be a shame if you don’t take advantage of this chance.
Conclusion: Voice Search is Becoming Mainstream
The next giant wave of digital marketing for businesses is here, and it will affect how you get the search results you want. Marketers must reexamine their SEO strategy to accommodate emerging developments in voice search and personal assistants. While only image and voice-based searches can make up half of all search queries, voice and image-based searches are widely expected to perform that function.
In some instances, some forms of questions can’t be articulated (You don’t need to strain to grasp them). Therefore, voice search queries can be compared to text search queries for subjects where people use voice search queries. Bear in mind that your users are only getting warmed up to the conversational search form. It is still unclear what effects voice search would have on SEO.
We ultimately want users to perform real-world tasks with our services. Adopting your SEO strategy now will help you ride the current wave as voice search becomes more and more mainstream.
